Icebound: The Jeannette Expedition's Quest for the North Pole

The 1879 expedition began with high hopes of Arctic discoveries; it came to disaster on Siberian shores, and the official investigation that followed was an adroitly managed cover-up. Guttridge, coauthor (with J. D. Smith) of The Commodores, has ferreted out the facts about the Jeannette and the ship's company. Playboy/publisher James Gordon Bennett underwrote the expedition, led by Lt. George W. De Long, USN. The Jeannette was trapped in ice for two years before it broke up; the crew escaped in three boats. One disappeared without a trace, two landed separately on the vast delta of the Lena River, and the men in one boat perished of starvation. Colorful characters abound: the navigation officer incapacitated by syphilis, the marvelously inventive engineer, a famous criminal lawyer hamstrung by collusion among the survivors, a widow determined to protect her late husband's reputation. Guttridge unfolds a gripping story of suspense and adventure. Illustrations not seen by PW. (June)